


Infamous In All the Wrong Ways

by NephilimEQ



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Best Friends, Complete, F/M, Friendship, Humor, One-Shot, Sarcasm, Severus Snape is a Good Friend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-20
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:35:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23755459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NephilimEQ/pseuds/NephilimEQ
Summary: Hermione Granger goes out of her way to try and prove Divination is wrong, and when she finds out that Pluto is no longer a planet, she knows she has the ace in the hole...but, hold up. Did she just make Divination *more* accurate? aka The Story Where Hermione Becomes Famous for the One Thing She Never Saw Coming
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Severus Snape
Comments: 11
Kudos: 87





	Infamous In All the Wrong Ways

**Author's Note:**

> This is based off of a *hilarious* prompt that I came across on my SS/HG Facebook group and I took it upon myself to write it!

** Infamous in All the Wrong Ways **

Hermione growled to herself as she put last of her books away onto her shelves, glaring over at the two day old Daily Prophet, where a picture of her grimacing and trying to pull away from the grasping clutches of Professor Trelawney as she stood next to her as Hermione got her award stared back at her. Which she wished she’d never received.

She put _Enchanting Elixirs_ onto the shelf and then pivoted on her heel and wandlessly summoned her glass of Firewhiskey from the other side of the room.

Tossing it back as quickly as she could, she collapsed onto her couch, turning her glare onto the fireplace.

It crackled, hissed, and popped, and she felt the prickle of annoyance on the back of her neck start to ebb. She looked over at the paper one more time…and then reluctantly drew it towards her and read the article that spread over the front page in stark black and white print, knowing that she had to read it in order to help herself come to terms with it.

_Hermione Granger, one of the well-known members of the Golden Trio, has made the greatest wizarding find of the century! Using information obtained through Muggle technology, she has revolutionized Astrological academia—_

Hermione snorted. Astrological academia? Ha!

_\--and has created an even more accurate formula for the subject of Divination. Using the new formulas with adjustments for this new information, that Pluto is apparently not a planet, it has been discovered that predictions become more accurate, which has heavy implications for multiple applications that will affect subjects such as Numerology, Personal Astrology, Tea Leaf Readings, Quidditch Evaluations, Weather Evaluations, and even Wizarding Banking. Due to Miss Granger’s contributions at the IWS (International Wizarding Symposium), she has received a second Order of Merlin, First Class._

_For more information on her newfound discovery, proceed to page 7…_

Her brow scrunched up and she hissed as she threw the paper into the fire, grimly smiling as it went up in flames. She might have been able to tolerate it if it had been Rita Skeeter who had written it, but no. It had been a new reporter who had a solid and well-respected reputation, and so it made it even worse.

She huffed as she stood back up and strode out of her new library into the kitchen.

The house had been a purchase with some of her money from her _first_ Order of Merlin, as she had wanted her own place, and it was ideally placed in the countryside, not too far from Muggle London. As much as she loved the wizarding world, she still loved home, and so tried to stay as close as possible.

However, she now regretted being close to the wizarding world, as she had gotten several owls, several of which were from prominent names in the Divination community that she wanted _nothing_ to do with, burning them as soon as she had received them. It had been bad enough that she’d had her picture taken with Trelawney on the cover of the Daily Prophet, and now it seemed that the wizarding world wanted to completely make fun of her by making her the savior of the one subject that she absolutely _hated._

She had actually been trying to prove them wrong, ironically enough.

As she made her tea by hand, Hermione thought over what had led her to where she was now.

Two months ago, she’d gone to a lecture series at Oxford, excited to spend some time catching up since she’d been mostly sequestered in the wizarding world since she was eleven, and had been thrilled when the series was on astronomical discoveries of the past twenty years. The instant she had heard that Pluto was no longer classified as a planet, she had seized her opportunity and had taken extensive notes and then proceeded to read everything she could get her hands on about the research.

When she had presented it at the IWS, she had been _certain_ that the Divination community would fall apart and be completely discredited…much to her dismay, however, a wizard by the name of Heironymous Daschund had taken all of her research and included it into his equations and had used it to prove that Divination was now _more_ accurate than ever with the proper information.

Hermione had been mortified, whereas Professor Trelawney had hailed her as her greatest student.

She’d already gotten several amused letters from Harry and Ron, both of whom were on their own separate career paths; Harry was apprenticing at Hogwarts to be the new Defense teacher, and Ron was working at the Ministry as a strategic advisor for the Auror division.

Harry had mentioned that he felt sorry, but to not take it too hard because it was still pretty important, whereas Ron’s handwriting had barely been legible, most likely from the fact that he’d probably been laughing the entire time that he was writing it.

By the time her tea was made, she was feeling slightly less agitated, but still upset at how things had turned out.

Over the past month she had become a complete shut-in. Luckily, her new job let her work from home, as she had a Muggle job as a copy editor that she made decent money at, but it meant that she had no social life besides the small bit of correspondence that she had with her few friends. Which, to be honest, was actually more than enough for her. She had never been one for social skills and she truly preferred her own company to anyone else’s, so it wasn’t a huge loss.

As she walked back into the library, she glanced at the one letter she hadn’t yet opened that had arrived that morning. The back of the letter had a familiar, spidery scrawl, and she smiled softly as she ran her fingers over it.

Might as well.

She sat back down on the couch and magically flicked it open while she took a sip of her tea, and then hovered the letter in the air in front of her, her lips slowly curving into a smile as she read it, pleased that he was still in contact with her, even after everything that had happened.

_Hermione,_

_As much as I want to feel upset in your behalf, I find that I am rather more taken to laughter than tears when I think of your situation. I doubt this is how you expected to change the wizarding world, but what’s done is done, so you might as well find a way to enjoy it. I know that I took advantage of my monetary gain and have made myself quite comfortable in my isolation, and I would advise you to do the same. As to your friends, I am, for once, on their side. You must find some humor in it, Hermione, or else you will make yourself miserable._

_If nothing else, try and find a way to contribute something more. I am more than willing to take on a partner on some of my new projects and would not object to you joining me. I remember your skills were quite advanced for your age in Potions. Missing boomslang skin from my cupboards in your second year let me know that you were the one, and not Mr. Potter, who was cooking up a batch of Polyjuice Potion. He didn’t (and still doesn’t) have the skill for such an undertaking._

_If ever you want to talk, you can reach me by Floo at the Prince Estate, or you can call me on my Muggle telephone, as you already have the number._

_Sincerely,_

_Severus Snape_

Hermione smiled and folded the letter back up and put it on the side table. Oddly enough, Snape had been the one person on her side for most of the ordeal. After the Final Battle, as it was now called, they had rushed back to the Shrieking Shack and managed to save him, despite his protests to leave him to die, and he’d been given an Order of Merlin, First Class, for everything that he’d done to help them win the war. And afterwards, Hermione had been annoyingly persistent in trying to make friends with him, since no one else would.

And, surprisingly, it had worked. The two of them had very similar personalities, and she had never met anyone with as sharp a wit as his, and over the past three years she considered the two of them close friends.

They met up for lunch a few times a month, and he was the only person that she would actually leave her house to see. Ginny came by, on occasion, but she and Harry were still in the honeymoon stage of their marriage, so Hermione let her have her time with him more often than not.

Victor still wrote her, and she wrote back, but it was nothing more than a warm friendship between them, though it was one that she cherished.

Ron, of course, never wrote unless he had to.

Knowing that Snape’s offer was a standing one, and it was just before lunch, so she grabbed a pinch of Floo powder and threw it in and said in a resigned tone, “Prince Estate.” The fire went green and she stepped through into Severus Snape’s private library which dwarfed her own, needing an extended ladder to reach the top shelves.

He was already there, lounging on his couch in just his black trousers and white shirt, partially unbuttoned, a black vest thrown casually over it, completely unbuttoned.

He merely raised an eyebrow at her presence, not even looking up from his book as he said in an almost bored tone, “Ready to murder every one in the Divination community, just yet?”

Hermione rolled her eyes as she magicked off the ash and quipped, “Hardly. Mostly only Ron. You wouldn’t _believe_ his most recent letter, telling me that I should just make friends with Trelawney!” She threw herself on the couch next to him, propping her feet up on the coffee table. “All he does is laugh at me!”

She heard him stifle a chuckle and she rolled her eyes a second time and gave him a look.

“Do you think might stop laughing at my pain, or is that too much to ask?”

Severus looked up from his book and arched an eyebrow at her and said, “Hermione, I’m sorry, but you can’t expect me to not find humor in your situation. After all,” he smirked, “You are now infamous for changing the wizarding world’s view on divination. That was your overall goal, was it not?”

He was laughing at her without actually laughing and she sighed and leaned her head against the back of the couch and ran her hands over her face and said, “Oh, will you stop it, please? You _know_ that this is _not_ what I had in mind for becoming infamous! I was trying to _dis_ credit them, not give them more ammunition!” She let out another aggravated sound and leaned back forward and added, “I can’t leave the house without being accosted, and so I’ve decided to become a hermit. Hermitess? Hermita? Is there a feminine version of that word?”

Severus chuckled and moved so that he was facing her, the book long forgotten, and said, “You can’t shut yourself away.”

“Why not? You have. It seems to be working well for you,” she observed, waving a hand in his direction and he gave her a _look_ , and she relented.

“Hermione, we both need to get out of the house. Now, since it’s lunchtime,” he said, drawing up to his feet and extending a hand in her direction, “How about we take a meal in Diagon Alley?”

She gave him a look of her own.

“Diagon Alley? No, I will not set _foot_ in that place. We will eat in Muggle London, at Carrety’s. I will not deal with the stares and the, the--”

“Oh, shut up and follow me,” he groused, grabbing her hand and gently tugging her to her feet, throwing a handful of Floo powder into his fireplace and firmly stating, “Diagon Alley,” and then pulled her through after him. As soon as they landed in the communal gate for the Alley, Hermione immediately pulled away from him, glaring. He then smirked at her as he swept off the ash from both of their clothes, and then lifted his arm towards her.

Hermione let out a frustrated sigh but took his arm anyway and followed him down the bustling street.

“I can’t believe you’re making me do this,” she muttered under her breath, studiously trying to avoid looking up at the stares she knew they were receiving. “You are officially my _worst_ friend,” she added as he turned the two of them into Fiddle’s Tea Shop, two doors down from Fortescue’s.

He gave her a look as they sat down at a small table in the corner near the front windows and said, “No, I believe that title still belongs to Ron Weasley. Now, what would you like for lunch?”

Hermione glanced over the menu and then answered in an unenthused tone, “Something chocolate.”

Severus chuckled and replied, “I can do that.” A server suddenly approached them and before the young man could ask what they wanted, Severus spoke up. “A chocolate double espresso, a small black coffee, two sugars, a slice of your coffee cake, and a piece of your thickest chocolate pie. That would be all.”

The boy magicked the menus back to his hands and nodded and quickly left them.

Hermione managed a small smile at hearing all of the chocolate that he’d ordered for her and was also silently grateful that he’d taken them to a less frequented area of Diagon Alley. Unlike the rest of the restaurants and food shops, Fiddle’s was a bit more sequestered, not too far from Knockturn, and it kept a lot of the youngest and oldest crowds away. The majority of the clientele who came into the tea shop were students who were apprenticing at nearby shops, most of them with bloodshot eyes and vacant expressions.

So, Hermione was surprised when two fifteen-year-old girls wandered in and wanted to hide when the instant they saw her, they lit up.

Shoving at each other and whispering to each other the entire way, they walked over to her and one of them pulled out a copy of the Daily Prophet and Hermione inwardly cringed at seeing it. Then, the one with the bright yellow messenger bag approached her and asked, haltingly, “Uh, hi-hi, Miss Granger. My name’s Aria, and I was—we were…wondering if you’d…sign this for us?”

She looked at the both of them, who seemed to be practically glowing with excitement at meeting her…but for none of the reasons that she wanted them to.

The other one spoke up and said, “We’re at Hogwarts and we’re both planning on going into Divination and your work has made it so much easier and so much more accepted. My mum used to laugh at it, but now…now she’s all excited for me, and so we were wondering if you’d sign this for us so we could put it in our room on the wall…”

At hearing that, some part of her reached out for them and she hesitated a moment, but then nodded.

As soon as she’d signed it, along with a short message to the girls, Aria and Circe, they took off, and she looked back over at Severus and saw him smiling at her, with a slight knowing glint in his eye and she rolled her eyes and said, “Oh, shut up with that look. I know what you’re trying to do, but you won’t change my mind. This is absolutely mortifying and _not_ the way that I wanted to be remembered,” she threw at him. “I need to do something bigger and better to erase this horrible stain on my career.”

He arched an eyebrow at that and then stirred his coffee, which had just been brought by the young waiter.

Hermione looked down at her own chocolate espresso and then back up at him and reluctantly added, “Alright, I guess…it’s not _entirely_ horrible. Just…this is _not_ what I wanted to be known for, Severus.”

He nodded back at her, took a sip of his coffee, and then remarked, “Perhaps not, Hermione, but did you see how much of a difference it made to those two girls? How did your parents react when you told them you wanted to stay in the wizarding world?”

She went silent and stared into her drink and he filled the silence with, “It may not be the difference you wanted to make, but it’s made an important difference for them. How many young girls and young men have been laughed at in the past for putting stock into Divination, even in the wizarding world, and now have a chance to be taken seriously? This is important for them, Hermione, and, in fact, Divination and Arithmancy aren’t all that--”

Hermione cut him off.

“If you say they’re not all that different, Severus Snape, I will hex your bollocks off.” He said nothing more but arched another eyebrow at her as he took a sip of his coffee. She let out a soft groan and then admitted, “Though, I do understand what you’re saying. Arithmancy turns everything in the world to numbers, some of which are more magical than others. Divination just turns everything in the world into symbols…” She sighed. “God, I hate being smart enough to understand this.”

Severus snorted into his cup and then put it down and gently pointed out, “It’s all a part of the same thing, Hermione. By shunning your discovery, you’re giving them all of the ammunition. _Embrace_ it, make it your own. Don’t let it be something you’re ashamed of, but rather something that you’re _proud_ of. By being proud of it, you can help get rid of the stigma that rests on the subject.”

He wasn’t wrong. And, even though it bothered her, it bothered her more to think of the students who had probably been discouraged from going into the subject because of how it was looked down on.

Hermione thought of Lavender and Parvati. She had gotten letters from both of them when the article had first come out, gushing thanks and appreciation for her work.

Perhaps Severus was right.

She slowly looked back up at him and met his look with a shy smile and said, “Okay, perhaps…you’re not entirely wrong.” He said nothing, though the corner of his mouth twitched. “I _should_ be embracing this, trying to use it to make the world a better place. I remember how hard it was being interested in school when no one else was, I can’t imagine how much more difficult it’s been for others.”

He nodded and put down his coffee and then reached across the table and put his fingers lightly over hers.

“You could do a lot of good, Hermione.”

She nodded back at him, and then remarked, “You know I’ve become infamous when I am out with Severus Snape in public and they only want to talk to me and completely ignore you,” and he chuckled, squeezed her fingers, and replied, “Oh, they know better than to approach me,” and she let out an inelegant snort and said, “God, how I wish that were true in my case!”

Severus smiled at her and then removed his hand and wrapped his fingers back around his mug, and she looked at him for a moment, slightly baffled that he’d been willing to be seen out in public with her.

Then she said, “Thank you for this, Severus.”

He smiled again.

“You’re welcome, Hermione.”

She stared out the window for a while, both of them enjoying the silence, and as she stared, she thought about what it meant to have already changed the world of magic before she was even twenty-five. What more could she do with her life and what would it be like? And who would it be with?

Hermione glanced over at Severus over the edge of her espresso cup and thought over how everything had changed in the past three years since the Final Battle.

Sure, she still kept in touch with her friends, but in terms of time spent, she spent most of her free time with Severus…and she rather liked it that way. They worked well together, and they were able to spend time together without feeling the need to fill the silence with mindless talk. They were able to spend time together, well, like _this_ ; sitting and enjoying each other’s company, neither of them needing to say anything, just…being. It was something that she didn’t have with anyone else in her life.

She smiled to herself and then said softly, “You’re sure you wouldn’t mind having my name on some of your potions? It wouldn’t besmirch it in anyway?”

He scoffed and quipped, “Hardly. You’re well known for your academic achievements, I don’t know why you should limit your achievements to one subject.” He sipped at his coffee. “But if you do come on as a partner, my name _will_ come first in the publications,” he said, and she rolled her eyes, but smiled.

“Oh, fine. Such a hardship.”

Severus smiled back at her.

Yes. Perhaps it wasn’t entirely horrible becoming infamous, she mused to herself as they finished up their drinks and took their food to go.

As he Flooed them back to his estate, his arm around her waist, keeping her from losing her balance as they walked through back into his library, Hermione thought on it a bit longer and came to the conclusion that she was perfectly fine with having her name associated with her discovery…so long as she it meant she could keep Severus Snape in her life as a friend.

He flashed her a faint, derogatory smile as he magicked off the ash of his clothes, as well as hers, and she followed him back to the couch, where her feet eventually ended up in his lap as they ate their food and then started a heated debate over whether or not Divination affected potions that were made in conjunction with certain celestial events. They didn’t find a conclusion that made them both happy, but Hermione enjoyed the discussion as well as the company.

Sure, she was now infamous in all the wrong ways…but she was okay with that.

* * *

Based off of this: 


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